San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a state situated on the Italian peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.
The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world’s oldest constitution still in effect. The country’s economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.
The Three Towers of San Marino are located on the three peaks of Monte Titano in the capital. They are depicted on both the Flag of San Marino and its coat of arms. The three towers are: Guaita, the oldest of the three (it was constructed in the 11th century); the thirteenth-century Cesta, located on the highest of Monte Titano’s summits; and the fourteenth-century Montale, on the smallest of Monte Titano’s summits, still privately owned.
San Marino has a famous cake known as Torta Di Tre Monti (“Cake of the Three Towers”), a layered wafer cake covered in chocolate.
Love Orchestra, a Gian Luca “Luke” Mazza new age music project, comes from the Republic of San Marino. During concerts overseas, the San Marino flag is shown on the stage.
The site “San Marino: Historic Centre and Mount Titano” has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008. The decision was taken during the 32nd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee composed of 21 Countries convened in Québec, Canada.
[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Horizon 2020 is a funding programme created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the European Research Area (ERA). It is the eighth of the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development funding research, technological development, and innovation with the focus on innovation, delivering economic growth faster and delivering solutions to end users that are often governmental agencies. The programme's name has been modified to "Framework Programme for Research...
